Victory Scarf
by kyarajack
Summary: When Byakuya agreed to spar with a woman from the Fourth Division, he was expecting an easy fight. As their fight progresses, she brings forth a feeling he has escaped for a long time, and the Captain begins to realize he is going to get a whole lot more than he bargained for.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:** A tribute to Bleach. I really wish that Kubo had had the opportunity to finish the tale as he wanted; there's so much left up in the air! I'm still hoping that some other follow-up will be published and we'll get to see everything explained, but somehow I think chances of that are low. *sigh*

This story was supposed to be a one shot, but then it became way too long to put all in one chapter, so I had split it up. Which of course means that none of the chapters make sense in length, because they were all originally supposed to be scenes in the same one-chapter story. Point being, not all the chapters are as short as the first one, I can assure you. The chapters still give the best effect if you read them one after the other instead of taking breaks in between. I just figured it would be a lot less daunting to read 10K+ words in a couple short chapters than a giant one shot.

A good portion of this story is a fight scene. If you're not a fan of fights, then I suggest you turn back now. The fight scene is pretty long, and I'm surprised at how well it turned out. I don't usually write long fight scenes, and I was pretty pleased with it in the end. Timing of this story is set between the end of Aizen Arc and the beginning of Fullbringer Arc. Anyway, I shall stop rambling, happy reading!

* * *

 **Victory Scarf**

* * *

"Renji," said the cold, commanding voice.

The lieutenant in question scrambled to his feet with some effort, using his sheathed sword to push himself up off the ground. He had just lost a very long spar and his legs were shaking badly with exhaustion. "Yes, Captain?" he asked.

Kuchiki Byakuya stood calmly in front of him, not a hair out of place and showing no sign of having expended any effort while defeating his lieutenant. "You will have to find something else to do at this time next week. I will be busy."

"Yes Sir," Renji said brusquely, bowing slightly. He was happy that Byakuya took any time out of his day to spar with him and was ecstatic when his captain had offered to make it a weekly occurrence. Understandably, the Kuchiki was a busy man and he couldn't always make it to their spars. "If I may ask, Captain, what will you be doing?"

He turned his head and gazed off into the distance, the slightest trace of a puzzled expression on his face. "I've been invited to spar with someone else."

"Would I be able to attend?" the crimson-haired man asked eagerly. "I think I could still learn from you by watching the fight."

"No," he answered. "My opponent has requested no observers." Byakuya flash-stepped away to attend other matters, without saying goodbye.

Renji didn't mind. His captain was usually that way. He staggered over to the nearest wall and slid down it, sitting on the ground and giving his legs a much-needed rest.


	2. Chapter 2

Byakuya watched his opponent's back in silence, waiting for her to notice his presence and turn around. She took a remarkably short time to do so, and as she began to turn, he commented, "You're eager."

"Just early," she countered with a smile. Her long blonde hair was the palest shade of yellow, approaching the colour of Captain Hitsugaya's spiky locks. The strands were so fine that some were lifted by the light breeze, trying in vain to escape their fellows that were bound in a ponytail that fell to her waist. Her pale blue eyes surveyed him carefully, travelling up and down his person before meeting his grey gaze once more. She took a few steps towards him, stopping at just the right distance for the ceremonial bow, and waited for his cue. Since she had been the one to issue the challenge, he, the challenged, earned the right to call the beginning of the spar.

While she had been examining him, he had also evaluated her. She was tall for a woman, only two or three inches shorter than himself. Her arms were wrapped in bandages down to her wrists. The V-shaped neckline of her uniform revealed that her chest, or at least the upper part of it, was also bandaged, up to the top of her neck. What little of her skin he could see on her hands and face was so pale that it looked nearly white in contrast with her black shihakushou. He wasn't sure he'd ever seen someone with so little saturation of colour on their person. Other than that, not much else about her was remarkable. The woman's physique was average, she was right-handed based on where she hung her sword, and she wore no adornments on her shinigami uniform. From the way she moved, he discerned that the all the bandages on her person were for some reason other than injury. Perhaps a stylistic preference. Nevertheless, he was pleased that she was uninjured, or else the fight would have ended much too quickly. "Kuchiki Byakuya," he stated, as required prior to a spar, "Captain of the Sixth Division."

"Horiyoshi Hari, fourth seat of the Fourth Division," she said firmly.

"I thought this when you challenged me last week and it comes to mind again: do you think you could possibly win against me?" He watched her features carefully, learning what he could about her character. She didn't show the mix of rage and bullheaded determination that he was used to seeing from Renji. Instead, a playful smile adorned her face.

"Depends on whether or not you get it."

"I assume you are using 'get it' in the place of understanding something?" the captain asked coolly.

"Yup." Hari drummed the fingers of her left hand on the black sheath of her sword. "So, did you come to chat until you understood my character or are we going to start soon?"

"Bow," Byakuya said shortly in reply.

She bent at the waist, keeping her head up and eyes on him. He did the same, straightening when the proper depth had been reached.

"Draw." The ring of their swords was carried away on the breeze as they both took ready stances. Byakuya noticed quickly that her katana was unusually thin, a trait that had been hidden by the bulk of the scabbard while it was sheathed. The length was nothing special, but the width of the sword was likely the smallest it could be while still being able to support the blade. The zanpakuto was the reflection of the shinigami's soul, but he wasn't quite sure what a thin katana implied about its wielder. Though it wasn't always the case, perhaps the size of her blade reflected her strength. The Fourth was notoriously poor in battle after all, which made her challenge even more baffling. _I'll hold back and see what she can do, but she will not be able to defeat me. This will be a trivial win._ "Begin."

The moment the word left his lips, she lunged at him, blonde hair swirling behind her. Hari thrust her sword at his abdomen, but met only air. Byakuya had stepped sideways and evaded her attack. The slight widening of his eyes betrayed his surprise at her lack of caution. "Not what you expected?" the woman asked cheekily. She turned and lunged again, without giving him time to answer, aiming for his chest. He countered with his own katana, slashing at her unprotected left side, and forced her to turn her lunge into a parry in order to avoid injury.

They continued their deadly dance, blades flashing in the sunlight and ringing when they clashed together. Her icy blue eyes followed his every move, which she met and countered without hesitation. He started using his shunpo lazily, increasing the pace of the fight, and she kept up with her own. Testing, Byakuya flash-stepped behind her, but she was caught on immediately and spun around to parry. Hari threw his sword off its trajectory, but his strike was so forceful that she unbalanced herself slightly in the process. Instead of taking time to recover her balance as he expected, she aimed a weak thrust at his side. _Wild attacks won't get you anywhere with me._ The Kuchiki blocked the poor strike, but realized too late that that had been her intention. She used the resistance of his blade on hers to push her weight back over her feet, regaining her balance. _I see. Not a wild attack, a calculated one._

Hari leapt at him, even though they were already close, forcing him to retreat slightly in order to have enough room between them to wield his katana properly. _Her style is forward. Very forward. Everything is far too precise to be called reckless, but very aggressive._ Even with her heavily offensive style, the captain noted how exact every motion was. When she dodged, she didn't move in excess, just far enough to ensure safety. When she attacked, she stabbed rapidly and repeatedly instead of slashing, aiming for different spots on his person. _She likely developed that stabbing style because of how slim her sword is._

The woman jumped away from him, and the moment her sandaled feet touched the ground, she propelled herself towards him once more. She stabbed at him – right arm, left shoulder, right arm again – but he blocked each blow. Her speed was extremely good for a fourth seat, rivalling that of a lieutenant. The man was nowhere near his full fighting potential, but he couldn't afford to be as relaxed as he had anticipated. He watched her sword closely, making sure that he was never in its deadly path. There were a few close shaves for his captain's haori and shihakushou, but his body was never in danger.

From their clashes, he could tell that her sword very lightweight, not enough force behind it to produce a single spark when metal kissed metal. But, its low weight added immensely to her ability to stab at him quickly, allowing her to get at least three thrusts at him during every exchange. Hari was at him again, and he blocked and dodged her attacks on his arms and torso. She managed a fourth stab, aimed right at his face, and he ducked beneath her blade. Then somehow, a fifth – a slash, completely different from her style thus far – down towards his leg. He swept his leg away, but felt fabric give way to sharp metal. They sprang apart, each taking a moment to catch their breath. He eyed the small cut in the leg of his shihakushou. _Seems like this fight will require a bit more effort._

Hari kept her sword up while she caught her breath. "Against strength like yours, I really wish I could trade speed for a bit more weight in my blade. But I think that speed is working in my favour so far," she grinned, looking very satisfied with herself for the slight damage to his clothes.

"Your katana makes you heavily favour dodging," he analyzed. "The strikes that you can't dodge, you parry, since that katana really isn't made for blocking." The Kuchiki watched her for signs that she would go for another attack, but she seemed content to wait for him to make the next move. "I commend your swordsmanship. It is remarkably precise. I daresay Captain Kyouraku would be impressed."

"I'd rather impress Captain Unohana than Kyouraku," she drawled.

He frowned. _Unohana-senpai is extremely experienced, but I thought Kyouraku's swordsmanship was the best of the captains. Except perhaps the Captain-Commander. Some of the Eleventh, like Madarame, are also quite good._ Discarding the thought, he returned his focus to the battle. _The real fight begins now._ "Let's see how you do when there is no sword to counter." He held his zanpakuto up and commanded, "Scatter, Senbonzakura." His zanpakuto dissolved into a thousand tiny blades, dancing on the wind, flashing pink in the sun. They circled him lazily, awaiting his orders. Byakuya looked at her expectantly. _Do you have a shikai to counter mine? Are you smart enough to release it right away? Or will you concede when faced with the wrath of Senbonzakura?_

"Swallow, Kurogane." From the tip of her katana, something black emerged, spilling down the length of the blade. It was pitch black, as dark as the best ink money could buy. It had the consistency of molten metal, moving slowly in thick streams. The substance clung to her sword as it flowed by, leaving an opaque black layer in its wake. The dark liquid defied gravity, traveling under her bandages, up her arm, and emerging at the top of her neck to crawl up her face. It covered her mouth and nose, reminiscent of the masks that Soi Fong's Onmitsukido wore. It ran down each strand of her long hair, turning the blonde to black, down to each individual eyelash. Hari stood before him, her previously pale skin now completely dark, swallowed by her shikai. Her eyes were the only things left exposed, chips of pale blue ice on a background of coal black. "Shall we?" she asked through the darkness that covered her face.

The Kuchiki swung his sword's lavender-wrapped hilt at her. Senbonzakura obeyed immediately, the pink blades rushing forth at Hari. She threw up her arms in front of herself as defense, but it was futile. He knew that his sword was making thousands of tiny cuts on her person. He let the attack continue until he felt her injuries, though not lethal, would be enough for her to admit defeat. He pulled the hilt back towards himself and the blades retreated to circle him once more.

The dust kicked up by the dancing petals settled, and Hari stood. A black shadow, eyes glinting, completely unharmed. _Not so bad._ She the right sleeve of her shihakushou had gotten the brunt of the attack and was now in shreds, so she shook it off and let it fall to the ground. The bandages underneath were torn to pieces as well, fluttering to the ground, revealing that the black liquid of her shikai had covered her arm as it had done with her sword, hands, and face. "Just a little taste, I take it?"

 _Unhurt. That's interesting._ The captain swung again, putting a bit more force behind his attack. He watched closely as she lifted her arms to defend herself again from the onslaught of a thousand blades. He could feel that each of his blades was cutting deeper than last time, and he directed them around the shield of her arms to attack her upper body. Again, he pulled his zanpakuto back to circle him and waited for the dust to settle. When it did, Byakuya understood how she had survived his first attack. The entire torso of Hari's shihakushou lay in ribbons on the ground, but the black substance that had emerged from her sword was still clung to her. It appeared to be some sort of armour. It had enveloped her whole body with skin tight defense that bore all the cuts inflicted by his blades. Underneath the slits in her armour, he could see that her skin was just barely damaged, miniscule beads of blood beginning to form along fine red lines. As he watched, her body shimmered green, the colour associated with healing kido, and the wounds in her skin and black armour fused together. She was healed and her defense was complete once more. _That shikai is very well suited to counter Senbonzakura, able to take a thousand cuts as long as they are shallow._

"My turn," Hari growled. The woman charged at him and he brought the blades of his sword to his defense. She thrust her now-black katana at a gap, but it closed as she reached it, her katana clanging off the seemingly delicate petals. She aimed for another gap, and the tip of her katana made it through before his zanpakuto amassed around it and pushed it back again.

With only a thousand blades, the Kuchiki had to be mindful about where he placed them, as he didn't have enough to create a tornado of defense around himself. He directed them with the hilt of his sword, countering each of her attacks, which were all conveniently and boringly coming from in front of him. Byakuya kept a dense wall of blades between them, leaving a scattered few to guard his back. Soon enough, as he had expected, Hari flash-stepped behind him to attack his undefended side. The man turned around, but what he saw snapped him out of his boredom.

Hari's pale blue eyes were hard as ice, glinting at him with the unmistakable ferocity of killing intent. He had the distinct impression that if he tried to see her reiatsu, he would be greeted with the skull of a raven, its razor sharp beak open to receive its prey. She was moving differently now, faster, surer, and even more aggressive than she had been before. She was half calm focus and half savage power, and all of it was aimed at him. The woman's black sword was starting to blur, thrusting through every gap in the pink blades that she could find. If the nearest gap was out of reach, she smashed at a thinner spots in the wall of petals, which she was learning to recognize, and was getting increasing lengths of her sword through with each strike. With a shout, she put her weight behind her slim sword and plunged it through his defense up to the hilt.

Byakuya's haori and shihakushou suffered a puncture through the front, and he felt a tiny flare of pain as the very tip of her blade bit into his chest. Through a gap in the petals, he saw her eyes gleaming with triumph, two spots of emotion on a lithe, all-black figure that reeked of murder. He leapt backwards, putting some distance between them. _That was much too close. Looks like I will have to use Senbonzakura's full power after all. She will be tired after that onslaught. I have a moment to-_

Hari didn't take any time to recover. She used her shunpo and closed the distance that he had created between them in a single bound. "Fourth Division, remember?" she called. "Getting rid of some lactic acid is nothing to us healers. Our bodies don't _get_ tired as long as we have reiatsu left." The woman followed him as he continued to back up, closing the gap just a little with each step.

 _She's pressing me_ , he realized. It had been a very long time since he had been the chased instead of the chaser. Changing tactics, the man stopped and stood his ground. He sent half of his blades on the offensive, reaching out hungrily to meet her. She dodged the attack deftly. She raised her left arm in front of her face and charged into his remaining wall of blades. Senbonzakura's blades fought back fiercely to defend its master. Though her black amour was taking most of the damage, it was no match for a captain's zanpakuto at full force, and she felt the harsh sting as it sliced her skin deeply hundreds of times.

Hari exploded through on the other side.

Kuchiki Byakuya's eyes widened. Ever so slightly, his pulse and his breathing quickened. The hairs on his arms began to rise and a shiver traveled down his spine. In his mind, just the barest of whispers, it was there.

Fear.

For a moment, he wasn't quite so sure of his trivial win. She was fast, incessantly aggressive, and aiming to kill. She had nicked him once, chased him halfway across their sparring ground, and joined the small handful of people that had succeeded in passing through Senbonzakura's defense. The woman was an unwelcome black visitor on the wrong side of his pink-bladed wall. Her injuries were already glowing green, rapidly closing, her icy eyes spearing him with her murderous intent.

The man stomped on the whisper of fear. She was a fourth seat. He flattened his own lieutenant on a weekly basis. He was Captain of the Sixth Division and Head of the Kuchiki Clan. _This_ will _be a trivial win._ Her cuts were healed, but he didn't do her the courtesy of waiting for her armour to heal as well. _This ends now._ He opened his right hand and dropped the hilt of his sword. It fell, down, down, towards the dry dirt.

Lightning quick, Hari lunged, caught Senbonzakura's guard on the tip of her black blade... and flung it back up in the air.

Byakuya stood still in shock, his grey eyes following the arcing trajectory of his sword hilt through the air. _What?_ His eyes snapped back to his opponent in front of him as he felt the burning pain of cold steel through his left shoulder.

"You should pay attention, Captain Kuchiki." Hari was breathing hard now, the repeated full-body healing taking its toll on her stamina. But her efforts had paid off and she now had her zanpakuto straight through the captain's shoulder. Her blue eyes shone with maniacal pleasure, with pure exhilaration at having landed a solid blow on him. Under her armour, she grinned. "One."

The fear returned, more than just a whisper now, a voice of uncertainty in his mind and heart. A fourth seat, from the weakest division, had wounded him. He had used his shikai, but that wasn't enough. When he went to release his bankai, Hari had been the first ever to stop him. He had arrived at this spar expecting a light workout at best, and now he was the one bearing more injuries. Would it actually be possible for him to... lose? _I will not._ "Don't try to lecture me," he said haughtily. A few steps away, he heard the soft thump of his sword hilt on the dirt. He wasn't out of cards yet, far from it.

"Bankai." The world went dark and ripples emanated from where his sword hilt had disappeared into the ground. A thousand swords rose on either side of him, in two rows, gleaming silver for an instant before scattering into uncountable pink blades. The force of the swords shattering caused a shockwave in the air, and he heard the breath leave Hari's lungs. They drifted lazily in the air, meandering their way towards him. "Senbonzakura Kageyoshi."

The woman hurriedly extracted her sword from his shoulder and leapt backwards. Straight into a wave of pink blades. She had been in such a hurry to retreat that she had failed to notice that the captain had blocked her path. She let out a gasp of pain and fell to the ground. The last of her uniform was torn apart by Senbonzakura and lay useless on the ground beneath her. Hari's back and legs were a mess of wounds, bleeding so heavily that it was impossible to tell exactly how many cuts she bore. The armour over her mouth parted for a moment and she coughed up a mouthful of blood.

The Kuchiki stared down at her with cold grey eyes. She wouldn't be getting up. It was over. His left shoulder throbbed painfully. If he had taken her seriously from the beginning, he could have saved himself the wound. His mistake was treating her like a fourth seat from the Fourth Division, even after it was apparent that she fought like Madarame Ikkaku. He sighed. He would have to get his shoulder seen to, and call someone to come help the woman.


	3. Chapter 3

"Two."

 _What?_ His eyes focused on his opponent, right in front of him, as the burning pain of cold steel greeted him again.

Hari's sword was through his right shoulder this time. She had left her wounds open to lower his guard, then used her shunpo to step right in front of him. She was exhausted, gasping for air, blood running freely down her back. _I don't have enough to heal me and Kurogane, so one will have to do._ Dipping into what little remained of her energy, she fused her armour together on top of the injuries to hold them closed for now. "You know, cold superiority... isn't the attitude to bring... when your opponent is... trying to kill you," she gasped between breaths. "Keep that up... and I'll just... keep... poking holes in you." The woman pulled her slim blade out of his shoulder and plunged it into his abdomen. "Three."

Adrenaline rushed through her veins and every breath rattled in her lungs. Hari was alive. The type of life that only came when you were in the heat of battle, when victory could come down to either luck or skill, when death could be a moment away. The purest of feelings that could only be felt when you gave everything you had to kill or be killed. The world was so sharp it was painful, but beautiful all the same. There was nothing but her body, her sword, and her opponent. Nothing else mattered. Her body was screaming in pain, but relished every minute of the battle. Her sword hungered for its target, and her opponent still hadn't moved. She was toe to toe with the great Kuchiki Byakuya, and if he stayed still much longer, she was going to kill him.

Byakuya was frozen. The fear was real, rampaging in his mind. The hairs on the back of his neck were all standing and a shiver jolted down his spine again. His heart pounded madly in his chest, telling him to flee before he got killed. _How? How did it come to this? I'm losing this spar. Have I gotten slow? Weak?_ Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Senbonzakura circling him lazily, awaiting orders that he couldn't seem to form in his mind. He could feel her withdrawing her blade slowly, pulling it out to strike again. Byakuya was pinned by her ice hard eyes that screamed determination, battle-crazed pleasure, and murder all in one. _Eyes._ Her pale blue eyes had been glinting at him for the whole fight. Unprotected. They were her opening. They should have been his target all along.

"Now you've got it," she panted. _Just as well, I've barely got anything left in me._ Hari pulled her blade from him and placed in on the ground in front of her, kneeling with her head bowed. "I concede." She heard the captain take a few steps away from her, leaving now that he'd won.

The next instant, her world was nothing but blinding pain, a torrent of razor blades crashing down onto her. She was already kneeling, but the force knocked her face-first into the hard dirt. Her body was on fire. Every time one blade had finished its cut, another took its place. There was no telling where one wound ended and the next began, they all ran together as a giant mess of torn skin and blood. An eternity later, the tidal wave of pink blades ceased. Her armour had vanished, her zanpakuto retreating to its dormant form without her consent, leaving her naked on the ground. Blood was pouring out of her, staining everything, and her vision was starting to blur and grey. Hari struggled to breathe, her body seemed to have forgotten how. Straining to look up, she saw that he had both hands pointing at her, evidence of his last command to Senbonzakura Kageyoshi.

The man moved one hand to hold his abdominal wound closed, preventing it from leaking too much blood down his front. With his other hand, he called Senbonzakura back to its sheath. Then, grimacing with the pain of using his injured shoulder, he unwound his silver-white scarf from his neck and tossed it onto Hari to cover her. The scattered bits of her shihakushou that were lying about on their sparring ground wouldn't have done much. "I'll send someone for you." He looked at her for another moment with his slate grey eyes and slowly, Kuchiki Byakuya turned and walked away.


	4. Chapter 4

Renji was seated on rock, warmed by the setting sun. He had been training alone since his captain couldn't attend their spar, and he was having a nice conversation with Zabimaru to end the day.

"Lieutenant Abarai?"

He hurriedly said his goodbyes and promised to return so they could finish their talk. The crimson-haired man opened his eyes to see a kind face was before him, waiting patiently. "Captain Unohana!" He stood up quickly and bowed. "What brings you here?" he asked, trying to sound polite. Something in his gut told him that she was a woman to be feared despite her gentle voice and docile looks.

She smiled. "It's been a long time since you have been to my barracks."

"I suppose that's a good thing, isn't it? It means I haven't been injured in a while," he said weakly.

"Wouldn't you like to pay a visit?" she suggested.

"Um well..." He scratched the back of his head nervously, sincerely hoping that she didn't intend for him to have a severe accident on his way home. "I've been training all day and I'm pretty tired. Maybe tomorrow-?"

"Nonsense!" Retsu reached forward with her hand and patted him on the shoulder. Suddenly, he felt completely refreshed, like all the tiredness had vanished from his body. "You look completely energized to me, a young sprightly man such as yourself, Lieutenant Abarai." She was still smiling, but the aura around her had changed to something eerily sinister. "I think you should pay a visit to my barracks tonight, don't you?"

"Y-yes," he answered hurriedly. Despite her smile, he got the impression that if he didn't agree, there wouldn't be anything left of him by tomorrow.

The woman turned and began leading the way. "Excellent. Shall we?"

Renji hurried after her, wondering what all this was all about. Why was Captain Unohana so insistent about something so simple? Soon enough they had arrived at the Fourth Division's barracks, where the members of the squad greeted their captain with varying degrees of formality. Some of them greeted him as well; he'd gained some renown in Seireitei ever since he'd befriended Ichigo, the loud, orange-haired, invader-turned-ally.

The woman stopped outside the door to a room. "I think," she pulled open the door, "you will find a friend of yours within."

Curious, he peeked into the room, and his mouth fell open in shock. "Hari!" She had been lying on the bed on her stomach, her face away from the door, but it was her long blonde hair that gave her away. Renji had run his fingers through it so many times that he would always recognize it instantly. He dashed into the room, not even noticing that Captain Unohana closed the door quietly behind him to leave the two of them alone.

At the sound of her name, she lifted her head and turned it towards him. A smile spread slowly across her face. "Renji."

"What happened? How did you wind up like this?" Everything except her face seemed to be covered in bandages. Her blankets were only pulled up to her waist, and he could see that dark red was still seeping through many places on her back.

Hari chewed her lip for a moment, looking pensive. Instead of answering him right away, she carefully pushed herself up with her hands, rolling over so she could sit up and lean against her pillow. She smiled her thanks when his strong hands reached out to help. When she had settled, not without a grimace of pain and a concerned look from Renji, she said finally, "Lost a spar."

"To who?" the man demanded incredulously, "Kenpachi?"

The blonde snorted. "As if he'd bother agreeing to fight me. How have you been?" she asked, changing the subject. "I haven't seen you since you got promoted to Lieutenant and that was months ago."

"Lots of extra duties, but I'm training whenever I can." He brightened suddenly. "I haven't told you! I've gotten my bankai now! It's got a long way to go, and Captain Kuchiki is helping me train by sparring with me. He always wins, but I'll get him one day," he grinned.

She grinned back. "I'm sure you will. What's his name?"

"Hihiou Zabimaru," he said proudly, patting the red-wrapped hilt of his zanpakuto.

"Congratulations, Renji," she said sincerely.

He couldn't help the warmth that rose to his face, which he knew was approaching the colour of his hair. Hari wasn't the type for praise. He'd learned that much, dating her on and off for decades. She was forward, almost to the point of vulgarity, and spoke her mind often, especially if she had something to criticize. She didn't cushion her words, and because of that, her congratulations meant that much more. "Well, y'know..." Renji finally managed to mutter mindlessly.

The woman giggled. "You're cute when you can't think of anything to say."

"Oh shut up," he replied, drawing back his arm to punch her lightly in the shoulder, but remembered her injuries and stopped himself just in time. "Right. Never mind."

Hari patted the bed beside her. "Come sit. Tell me all about Hihiou Zabimaru." She shifted over to give him some room, but froze midway, hissing in pain.

"It's fine," the lieutenant said hurriedly, "I'll stand." She ignored him, still moving over, so he gave up and helped her gently instead. The blood that had been seeping through her bandages had stained the pillow in some spots. He sat down gingerly in the space she'd made for him, trying not to jostle her. Renji frowned. "Wait a minute. Why haven't you healed yourself up already?"

"I used up all my reiatsu in the spar, idiot," she said, rolling her eyes.

"But Captain Unohana was just here. She could've healed you in no time."

Hari sighed. "Unohana doesn't usually heal me. She doesn't approve of all the sparring I do. She'd rather I spent my time working on healing, not fighting. So whenever I drag myself back here all bloodied up, she just bandages me and makes me heal myself when my reiatsu is replenished." She shrugged. "I suppose it works though. I get a good amount of practice in."

The man looked at her, stunned. "That's a different side of Unohana. Are you sure you're going to be okay?"

"I just need to sleep. Give it a day or two and I'll be good as new." The blonde waved a hand. "Enough about me, tell me about your new bankai." She listened as Renji animatedly recounted how he had acquired his bankai, training in an underground cave alongside Kurosaki Ichigo. He described his sword's new, awesome form and treated her to a detailed description of this fight with Byakuya to stop Rukia's execution. A while later, he arrived at the conclusion of the whole situation, with Rukia saved, some strange invention of Urahara's stolen, and three captains gone rogue. "I wish I could have seen half of that. I was tending the injured here since Captain and Lieutenant were both out on Sokyoku Hill for the execution."

"Captain Kuchiki using his bankai at full force really was incredible..." Renji fell silent and looked down at her, realizing that at some point during his story, he had put his arm around her and was playing with the ends of her blonde hair. It was something he used to do frequently when they had been together, and it was so familiar that he hadn't noticed what he was doing. His hand stilled. "Sorry, I didn't realize. Does it bother you?"

Hari shook her head, blushing. She could never hide it from him, in part because her skin was so pale that even the slightest tint of pink showed clearly. "You know that I like it when you play with my hair."

His fingers began toying with the blonde strands again. The crimson-haired man was feeling relaxed and comfortable, just sitting next to her. Back when they had been dating, he had really enjoyed the time they spent together and looked forward to seeing her when their free time coincided. For the life of him, he couldn't remember why they had decided to stop seeing each other shortly after his promotion. "How did we wind up being off again?" he asked.

Her blush deepened. "I uh... stepped on your sunglasses," she said meekly. All of Renji's sunglasses were ridiculously expensive, costing him six months' savings a pair, but he adored them so much he was willing to shell out the money anyway. She had been going to use the washroom in the middle of the night when she stepped on them by accident, immediately triggering his wrath and their break up. "Like I said, I wouldn't have broken them if you didn't leave them lying all over the place," she said defensively. "Especially the floor."

Renji laughed, surprising her. She had been expecting anger, or at least bitterness, but there wasn't a trace of either. "Oh yeah, I remember now." He shook his head at himself. "Man, I was so pissed. They were my newest pair too," he recalled.

"I see you're not wearing them anymore," the woman pointed out, eyeing the white headband that he was sporting.

"Ichigo broke two pairs in the last two months, so I haven't got any left at the moment. I'm just wearing this," he jabbed his thumb at the fabric, "until I can get the newest design."

"You and your sunglasses," Hari mumbled, stifling a yawn. Taking a look out the window, she saw that the moon had risen. Time had flown by after Renji had come in.

The lieutenant had also just noticed the moon outside. "It's late, I should get going. I'm glad you asked Unohana to get me. It was good to see you again."

She blinked. "I didn't ask her to bring anyone."

His face fell and he hurriedly removed his arm from around her. "I _really_ should get going then." He went to climb out of the bed, only to be stopped by Hari catching his hand.

"It was good to see you too." She tightened her hand around his and his desire to quickly remove himself from the room seemed to evaporate. "Unohana's a bit hard to understand sometimes, so I'm not sure why, but I'm glad she brought you." Hari smiled softly. "Really."

Renji's breath caught for a moment in his throat. He'd known her for decades, seen every side of her that there was to see, and she could still affect him like this. _That smile..._ He blinked. Her smile had taken on a mischievous edge. She knew exactly what effect she was having on him. "Damn it, Hari. Stop that."

She laughed. "That part of you hasn't changed. You're still an eager little puppy when it comes to me." The woman squeezed his hand gently before releasing it. "I mean it though. If I hadn't wanted to see you, I wouldn't have asked how you've been, or gotten you to sit here."

He knew she wasn't trying to cover any awkwardness from earlier. She was telling the truth.

"Come see me tomorrow, will you?" the blonde asked.

Renji reached up and tucked some stray hair behind her ear. He liked it when she didn't have it up in a ponytail, the strands framing her face delicately. He ran his fingers tenderly though her blonde locks, earning himself a reminiscent smile from her. "Sure," he replied. A smile, unbidden, also came to his face. "Tomorrow, you can tell me about the spar and who you lost to. I'll want to fight the guy next," he boasted.

"And what if I don't?" she said coyly.

He leaned forward. "Then I'll make you tell me," he said quietly, his face inches from hers. "I have my ways, you remember." Renji placed his hand on the side of her neck brushed his thumb across her cheek. She closed her eyes, enjoying the touch of his warm, calloused hand. He leaned even further and whispered in her ear, "I'm not the only one who's an eager little puppy, sometimes." The man knew exactly which thoughts must be running through her mind, prompted by their close proximity. He stayed where he was for a moment, letting her memories of their time together come to the surface. "Get well soon."

"I will," she murmured, cradling his hand with her own.

"Goodnight, Hari."

When she opened her eyes, he was gone. Slowly, she lay back down on her stomach and muttered into her pillow, "Renji, you silver-tongued devil."


	5. Chapter 5

Kuchiki Byakuya walked through the halls of the Fourth Division's barracks, ignoring the curious looks that followed his person. The members of the squad had reason to be curious. After all, he was almost never here. He rarely needed medical attention and never visited his subordinates when they were ill or injured. Frankly, he never saw the point. Even the lowest-ranked officer could offer better healing than he could, and Unohana ran a tight ship, making sure her division was always working hard, so his presence wouldn't intimidate anyone into healing any faster. Why some captains regularly visited their subordinates here remained a mystery to him. He arrived at the room that Unohana had directed him to, knocked, said, "Excuse me," and slid open the door.

The captain was greeted by a rather unexpected sight. Hari was sitting cross-legged on her bed. Topless. Her lack of clothing revealed that she was covered in tattoos, from her neck down to the waistband of her shihakushou, in addition to a full sleeve on each arm. The thick, black, swirling lines crawled over her, reminiscent of the armour of her shikai. On larger swaths of skin, they merged and joined, creating images in silhouette. Renji was by the bed and appeared to have been examining the image on her left arm before looking up at the interruption. The Kuchiki registered that a bird of some sort adorned Hari's collarbone and chest before he finally wrenched his gaze away. "Good afternoon," Byakuya said pointedly to the doorframe.

"Captain!" Renji exclaimed, jumping between them to shield her from view.

"Seems like your captain is a prude, Renji," she commented from behind him, reaching for the top half of her uniform. The woman lazily put it on. "Though I don't know why you would have a problem with nudity," she said airily in the captain's general direction, "since last time I saw you, I had nothing on at all."

The crimson-haired man thought he would have to pick his jaw up off the floor. _Hari? Naked? With Captain?!_ His eyes were huge as his gaze bounced uncomprehendingly between them a few times. Byakuya was still staring resolutely at the doorframe even though she was decent now, waiting for her to finish tucking her top into the pants of her shihakushou. Maybe it was because he'd been thinking about his relationship with her last night, or maybe he was a bit too imaginative, but a semi-plausible idea popped into his head. "Are- are you two..." he wanted to put it tactfully, but there didn't seem to be a word in his vocabulary, "dating?" he blurted. How the heck had his captain been seeing her without him knowing? He didn't follow his captain around day and night, but this news had hit him like the Koutotsu that regularly cleaned the Dangai.

"No," she said calmly, returning a large amount of normalcy to his world with a single word. Renji felt like he could breathe properly again. Byakuya had turned to face Hari, now that she was clothed, and was staring her down with his slate grey eyes. Hari met his gaze, raised her chin slightly, and defied his silent request. "He mangled my clothes with Senbonzakura Kageyoshi, and then hit me with one heck of a final blow. After I conceded the spar."

The normalcy that had so recently returned to Renji's world vanished again. "What?" There was no way. Simply no way. Kuchiki Byakuya was a man of law and honour. He wouldn't be caught dead disobeying a rule. His encounter with Ichigo had softened that steadfastness somewhat, but not to the extent of breaking the rules of combat. He turned to face her. "Hang on, Hari. There's got to be some sort misunderstanding. Captain would never-"

"Leave us, Renji," he said sharply.

The man shook his head in protest. "But there must be some explanation. You would never do something dishonourable like that!"

"You should know by now that I don't like repeating myself."

The lieutenant managed to squeeze out, "Yes, Captain," and bow stiffly before removing himself robotically from the room, his mind still reeling in shock.

Byakuya closed the door after he was satisfied that Renji was not within range to eavesdrop. He approached her bed where she still sat, her pale blue eyes daring him to raise his hand against her for telling the truth. He stopped in front of her, still holding her gaze. The man removed his zanpakuto from his waist, knelt on the floor, and placed his sword on the hardwood between them. The captain bowed his head and said humbly, "I, Kuchiki Byakuya, broke the rules of combat in a spar against you. Horiyoshi Hari, I beg your forgiveness for the wrong I have done."

The blonde was quiet, looking the top of his head and the white kenseikan he wore. "A noble Kuchiki kneels to me. Head of the Clan, no less. I should remember this moment forever." The man still hadn't moved an inch. "No need to be uptight," Hari said kindly, but he remained still. She reached over to the bedside table for her katana, unsheathed it, and touched the tip of its slim blade to the nape of his neck. "Kuchiki Byakuya, you are forgiven."

It was only then that he moved, slowly rising and placing Senbonzakura back on his hip. She sheathed her sword and placed it back on the small table, where a rectangle of folded fabric caught his interest. "I came for this as well," he said, picking up his silver-white scarf and examining it for any trace of bloodstains.

"Fourth is really good at getting blood out of fabric, so it's back to the right colour," the woman reassured him, swinging her legs over the edge of the bed and letting them dangle.

"Good. It's a family heirloom." He placed it back around his neck where it belonged and straightened, feeling much more like the Kuchiki he was.

"What, a victory scarf that you toss on your defeated enemies?" Hari asked jokingly.

Byakuya was about to reject the ridiculous notion when his fight with his lieutenant came to mind. A few weeks ago, he'd beaten down the man who was intent on stopping Rukia's execution. Then, when he had won, he had removed his scarf and tossed it onto Renji's bloodied body. "That was not its intended use." He watched the blonde frown, processing what his cryptic comment meant, before she could prod any further, he changed the subject. "How do you know Renji?"

Her face broke into a smile immediately. "I'm his tattoo artist. We've known each other for decades. Met in the Academy when he took a liking to my tattoos and wanted some for himself. He also took a liking to me." She lifted her right sleeve, revealing a baboon on her shoulder whose tail turned into a snake that spiraled down to her wrist. "I put this on myself after we'd been dating for a year. A week later, I wanted to cut it off."

The captain's eyebrows snapped together, puzzled.

"We've always been on and off. So this particular one I have a love-hate relationship with." The woman let her sleeve fall back down to her elbow. "Luckily, I don't have to look at it too much when I hate it. I keep the tattoos covered with bandages most of the time because Captain Unohana doesn't approve," she explained.

"I don't understand how you can love and hate someone alternatingly," the man said flatly. It didn't make any sense.

Hari looked pensive. "How should I put it... You loved Hisana, right?"

Byakuya was so blindsided by the question that he answered. "Yes, of course." He shook his head briefly, surprised that she had gotten him to admit that. No one mentioned Hisana to him, not the servants who had known her, not Renji, not even Rukia. Yet the blonde that he barely knew had just asked him a direct question about her, using her first name at that.

She didn't seem to notice the significance of his reply. "It's like that. Except the personalities never really work out. All chemistry and no compatibility."

"Interesting." He paused. "Excuse me," the captain said, bowing ever so slightly. "I have other matters to attend." He turned and headed for the door, and he had almost reached it when she spoke again.

"Why?" The single word hung in the air between them. It carried with it the rest of the unsaid question. _Why did you continue after I conceded?_

Byakuya looked over his shoulder and met her icy blue eyes. There was no killing intent in them now, just a burning curiosity. He pondered what he should say and settled on a reply was the same length as her question. "Fear." He vanished from the room with his shunpo, but she caught his final, quiet words. "Thank you for the favour."


	6. Chapter 6

By the next morning, Hari was healed and healthy, which meant it was back to business as usual: taking care of menial tasks and the general upkeep of Seireitei. The Fourth Division kept a rotating schedule of duties, moving its shinigami between the various barracks, the four major gates, and the winding, white-walled streets. But not her. She was assigned to the Eleventh Division's barracks this week, as she had been for the past 2,080 weeks, or 40 years.

It was a well-known fact that there was general discord between Eleventh and Fourth, the former seeing nothing but weaklings and cowards, and the latter with a firm belief that the former was comprised entirely of rowdy, short-tempered, sword-swinging barbarians. Upon graduating the Academy and joining Unohana's division, she had quickly learned that all her comrades dreaded 'Eleventh Week' and would gladly offer a few favours to swap for a different spot on the schedule. The woman had taken one of them up on their offer, giving up street sweeping duty for a week with the barbarians, free dinner at a famous ramen house, and the promise that anyone looking for tattoos would be pointed her way.

On her first day there, Zaraki's shinigami had picked up immediately on the fact that she was a fresh graduate, even though to this day she had no clue what had given her away. They addressed her by 'Rookie' or 'Kiddo' even after she had given her name thrice. She assumed it was something they put all the new recruits though and expected it to die down by the end of the week, so she shrugged it off and got to work. Hari heard many loud comments about the 'Division of Cowards' throughout the morning, mingled with whistles and catcalls from some of the bolder men, but she remained quiet.

They didn't manage to get another word out of her until around noon. As she was passing the lunch room, a man with long raven hair, shaved off the right side, made an offhand comment about the tattoos that adorned her arms, saying they were hideous and so poorly inked that they must have been done by a human. She had immediately dropped the basket of laundry she had been carrying, pointed her sword at him, and declared, "The hideously tattooed rookie challenges you to a spar."

Everyone had stopped eating and turned their heads to watch the scene unfold. Raven Hair laughed from his seat on the floor. "You talk real big for someone who can't back it up."

The woman entered the lunch room, advancing on him, eyes burning with rage. "You can call me Rookie. You can call my whole division cowards, and you can whistle and ogle all day. But insult my work and you will pay."

"Put away the sword, Rookie," he said, turning back to his food and waving her away, "you can't beat me."

She kicked the table he was sitting at, flipping it over and sending bits of rice and fried fish through the air. "Is that a 'no?'" Hari growled, pointing her katana at his nose.

If it was possible, it got even quieter in the room. He stood, carefully avoiding the tip of her blade, and crossed his arms. "Alright, Rookie, I'll show you how things are done around here."

A short while after Raven Hair's boastful statement, everyone in the lunch room had trooped outside to watch the spar. It didn't last long. Between her cold fury and his poorly-timed arrogance, she fought him down within five minutes. The man was lying face down on the ground, bleeding slowly from shallow wounds that were designed to sever tendons, immobilizing him. His zanpakuto lay a few paces away, out of reach, but he still tried to inch towards it. Rolling her eyes, the blonde picked up his blade and stabbed it through the back of his sword hand, pinning it to the ground. "Here you go," Hari said coolly. Sheathing her own sword, she informed the spectators, "You can take him to Fourth. I'm not on healing duty today." The woman glared at Raven Hair one last time. "And you can clean up the lunch room when you get back." She turned swiftly on her heel, heading back inside to pick up the laundry basket that still sat in the hall.

The tone of her afternoon changed drastically after that. Everyone was calling her by her name now, and the comments about cowards had stopped completely. The whistling wasn't gone, but there were only three or four who did it, and they seemed distinctly interested rather than teasing. By the time she left for her own barracks in the evening, half of them had given her a friendly punch in the shoulder and a grin. A handful had also informed her that they liked her style or that they were glad that she had some fire in her.

It didn't take long for Unohana to catch on to the fact that one of her newest recruits had appeared at the Eleventh Division's barracks three weeks in a row. She pulled Hari aside and asked gently whether older squad members were forcing her to trade assignments.

The younger woman shook her head. "I've been offering to switch. I get along with Eleventh, that's all."

"Yes, I thought you might," the captain replied pensively. After a bit more discussion, the blonde-haired woman agreed to an indefinite assignment to the Eleventh Division, which, barring emergencies, lasted to this day.

"Thought I'd find you here," a familiar voice said, snapping her out of her reminiscence.

She turned around to see Renji, leaning casually on the wall. "Obviously. Eleventh has been my job for ages. Why are you here? They're not your barracks anymore."

"You still haven't told me about your spar," he said, pushing off the wall. "I know you lost to Captain Kuchiki, but you still owe me a full recap." He walked right up to her, the fronts of their uniforms brushing against each other. "You can tell me over dinner. 7 o'clock."

Hari held up a finger. "First, I never actually said I would tell you about the spar, so I don't owe you anything." She held up another digit. "Second, we," with her other hand, she pointed at him, then herself, "are off right now. Isn't it a bit forward of you to assume I'm coming to dinner with you?"

He smirked and wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling her into him. "Being forward is the only way to handle you, Hari."

"Someone's handsy," she said, raising an eyebrow at him and crossing her arms.

"Yeah, and if you didn't like it, you would have punched me in the teeth by now." Nevertheless, the man loosened his grip, letting his arm hang loosely around her lower back. His smirk faded, replaced by a serious expression. "Listen. I ran into Captain Unohaha after I left your room yesterday – you _will_ be telling me about Captain attacking you after conceding – and I asked her why she had fetched me to visit you. She said she knew I was important to you. She told me you felt my reiatsu drop after I'd lost to Captain's bankai, went straight to her, and begged her to save me."

The blonde flushed pink. "I didn't beg, I just said 'please' a lot," she huffed, turning her head away.

"Unohana said I wouldn't have lived if you hadn't convinced her to go tend to me." Renji brushed a crooked finger over her cheek. "I want to take you out to dinner. To thank you for saving my life."

Her gaze flickered back to him for a moment before looking away again, the pink on her cheeks spreading to her ears. "What's with the change in words? I thought you'd already decided that I was coming to dinner."

The crimson-haired man chuckled. "I did, didn't I? See you at 7."

A few hours later, over their meal of freshly fried gyoza, she finally told him all the details of her fight against Captain Kuchiki. Hari remained resolutely mum about why exactly Byakuya had delivered his unfair final blow, maintaining that Renji would have to ask his captain if he wanted that information. After that, the conversation turned to things that had transpired since they had broken up, and they continued to talk until the waiter kindly informed them the restaurant was closing its doors. They left, the dark sky and bright stars outside greeting them. She had a generally happy mood about her, and he was walking much closer to her than he had at the beginning of the evening.

"Oh, I almost forgot." Hari reached inside the loose front of her shihakushou and pulled out a rectangular box, tied with a crimson ribbon. "This is for you."

Curious, the man took the box and untied the ribbon, lifting the lid to look inside. His face lit up with a broad smile and he gently removed his gift. A new pair of sunglasses reflected the light of the stars, the single, wide black lens buffed to a spotless shine. A blood red tint had been applied on top of the lens, flashing briefly when it caught the moonlight. A silver border ran along the top, as shiny as the rest of the sunglasses. "Hari, you didn't have to," he whispered, still in awe of his gift and admiring it from every angle.

"I'm replacing the pair that I broke," the woman explained, noticing that his smile hadn't faded in the slightest.

Renji tucked the box into his shihakushou and carefully put his sunglasses on. He had to raise them again almost immediately, seeing as it was already night and there wasn't much use for them at the moment. "But these are the newest design! And the tint doesn't come with them, you have to pay extra for that."

"I chose red because I thought it would suit you," she said, reaching up and adjusting them slightly. "I was right."

"These must have cost-"

She held a finger up to his lips. "Shush. I'm just replacing what I broke. I believe most people say 'thank you' at this point." She removed her finger and looked at him expectantly.

He pulled her into a hug with his strong arms, enveloping her with the warmth from his body. "Thank you," he murmured.

Hari leaned in and kissed him, softly, her lips pressing against his. The man found he was kissing her back without the slightest hesitation. They parted, both a little short of breath.

"On again?" he asked.

"Hell yeah," she replied, smiling.

He let his hand drift to her lower back and applied a gentle pressure. "Come on, I'll walk you home."

She let him pull her along, walking close beside him. "You were going to do that anyway."

"Well..."

"Besides, when else were you going to ask me to give you another tattoo?"

He stopped short. "How did you know that?"

The blonde giggled, took his hand, and pulled him along. "You kept staring at the koi on my arm all through dinner."


	7. Chapter 7

The lieutenant sighed, staring down the length of the sharp steel katana pointed at his throat. "I concede," Renji said from his position, flat on his back on the ground.

Byakuya sheathed his zanpakuto, satisfied with his win. The onlookers that had gathered to watch that week's spar applauded their captain. He took in the crowd with a sweep of his gaze and acknowledged their praise with a single cool nod. As he turned to walk away, Hari stepped out from the line of onlookers, heading towards the crimson-haired man on his back. Her icy blue eyes met his grey ones. He paused, contemplated, then turned on his heel, giving no sign that he recognized her at all.

 _That's Kuchiki Byakuya for you._ Brushing off his cold attitude, she knelt by Renji. "You suck," she said bluntly, placing her hands on his chest and starting to heal his injuries.

"I did better than last time," he huffed, not daring to move too much until some more of the pain faded.

"You've got to get faster if you're going to stand a chance against him. And be more aggressive."

He looked scandalized. "I am aggressive!" he retorted.

"There's a difference between aggressive and reckless," she said, rolling her eyes. "You know what, I'll show you." She looked up and spotted the white of the captain's haori disappearing between two shinigami in the crowd. "Byakuya!"

Everyone froze, waiting to see how the noble would take such casual address. He turned his head and looked over his shoulder at her, but remained silent.

"I did you a favour and I've decided that I want repayment."

"What sort of repayment?" he asked coolly, with the distinct undertone that he would not tolerate any ridiculous requests.

"Let's spar." _Again_ , Hari added silently in her mind.

Kuchiki Byakuya nodded once, then continued on the path he had been walking before, his silver-white scarf floating on the wind behind him.

* * *

 **A/N:** Well there you have it! I tend to like one shot stories that introduce an OC, and do absolutely nothing with them. So this is the end of Horiyoshi Hari, and there won't be any continuation to this story. This will probably come up that Hari's abilities shouldn't really be enough to injure Byakuya, but I think she managed to because he didn't take her seriously. He was mostly holding back and testing her to see what she could do. When she got through Senbonzakura, he realized that he should have been more careful, but by then, he was starting to feel fear, which does funny things to you and your ability to fight. Of course, in terms of sheer power, Byakuya could have steamrolled her with Senbonzakura Kageyoshi right off the bat, but that's a lot less interesting to write and read, don't you think? Let me know your thoughts! I love hearing from you all, because it means you took the time out of your day to write to me.

Here are a few fun facts and hidden meanings that I incorporated into Victory Scarf. Most of the background information is from Wikipedia and Google.

Horiyoshi Hari: The last name, Horiyoshi, gives away her occupation as a tattoo artist. Traditional Japanese tattoo artists incorporate 'Hori' into their surname, meaning 'to carve.' Apprentices to tattoo artists can have a name bestowed upon them by their master, or taking on their master's name, becoming 'the Second' or 'the Third' of a particular surname. Apparently Horiyoshi the Third is a real practicing tattoo artist in Japan at this point in time. Hari means 'needle,' another nod to her occupation.

Hari's zanpakuto and fighting style: It is unusually thin, which gives it a needle-like appearance. The rapid stabbing motion that she uses in combat is reminiscent of how ink is applied under the skin for tattoos. With traditional Japanese tattooing, the artist uses a metal 'brush' whose bristles are individual needles. The metal 'brush' is coated in ink, and stabbed repeatedly, by hand, into the customer's skin. There's at least one video out there on Google, which is very interesting to see if you're not squeamish. Japanese tattoos take an extremely long time to complete, since nearly the entire thing is done by hand, but are also said to be of superior quality and longevity compared to tattoos done with Western machines.

Hari's comment about Captain Unohana: [Spoiler alert about Unohana's past, shikai, and bankai] Hari says that she would rather impress Unohana with her swordsmanship than Kyouraku. On the surface, Kyouraku seems like the master of swordsmanship, wielding dual swords. But Unohana was the first Kenpachi, which implies that she has to be an excellent swordsman. Her shikai and bankai don't provide any inherent significant enhancements to her sword (no change in size/shape, no reiatsu sucking abilities, no instakill upon hitting the same place twice, etc.), which further enforces the implication that her pure swordsmanship has to be excellent. Hari, being a member of the Fourth Division, has some idea of Unohana's past, and would therefore be more pleased to gain her own captain's approval for her swordsmanship than Kyouraku's.

Swallow, Kurogane: Kurogane means 'black steel,' and references the black liquid that emerges from the sword to cover her whole body. The black steel swallows her whole body, hence the release command.

The raven reiatsu: This is my visualization of Hari's reiatsu when she is intending on killing her opponent. The raven is a carrion bird and associated with death. I wound up putting that with the idea of Zaraki's reiatsu taking the form of a yellow skull when he gets serious. Thus came the idea of her reiatsu taking on the form of a raven skull. I think it would be pale blue in colour, like her eyes.

Hari's tattoos: I imagine the lines to be much like Fai's tattoo from Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicles. Very swirly and flowy, but they come together to make images. The ones she has are: baboon (R shoulder), snake (spiral down R arm), wolf (R leg), panther (L shoulder), koi (L arm), gazelle (L leg). crow (chest), phoenix (back). Most of those I chose for fun. The baboon and snake are for Renji, the spirit of his zanpakuto. The crow on her chest symbolizes death, and when she looks in the mirror, it reminds her of what she works to prevent as a healer. The phoenix on her back symbolizes rebirth, and it is a reminder that in the event that she should fail to keep someone from dying, they will be reincarnated eventually. I have a headcanon that every soul/shinigami/human/hollow that dies/is purified must eventually be reincarnated, since that seems to be the only way that the total number of souls would stay constant. Having a constant number of souls seems to be a prerequisite to being able to maintain a balance between Soul Society and the Human World, which is the whole reason shinigami exist in the first place.

Forgiveness ritual: When Byakuya asks forgiveness, he takes the same position that Hari did when she conceded the spar. This switches their positions, so Hari is the one with power and he is symbolically at her mercy. When Hari forgives Byakuya, she touches her sword to the nape of his neck. In my headcanon, this is a ritual from the olden days. If X disobeyed the rules of combat and stuck after Y after they had declared mercy, X would have to beg forgiveness to restore their honour. At that time, Y got one free strike at the person before forgiving them. Long ago, Y could choose to behead X, or just injure them in retaliation. However, since things have toned down a bit, the one free strike is symbolized by touching one's zanpakuto to the back of the neck.

The favour: Byakuya is thanking Hari for making him feel fear. As a very skilled captain, it has been a very long time since he experienced fear, and he is grateful that she made him feel scared and gave him a wake-up call. Strong as he is, he isn't invincible. Originally, this whole story was supposed to be about the fear that Hari made him feel, strongly inspired by Byakuya vs. As Nodt. Then I wanted throw in Renji's relationship with her, so the fear became half the story. _Then_ I decided to show the fear from Byakuya's point of view rather than discuss it with anyone. (What do you know, writing doesn't always go as you plan!) Byakuya doesn't strike me as someone who would discuss fear anyway. He seems like he would just brood about it on his own (and I wasn't feeling generous towards introspective scenes). In the end, I decided to leave it up to the reader pick up on the fact that the favour Hari did for Byakuya was making him feel fear. Did you notice that part? Let me know!


End file.
